Excited about our Vino Rosso colt TUSCAN SKY who impressively won on debut at @TheNYRA for @PletcherRacing https://t.co/iPgfPNgD69

— Spendthrift Farm (@spendthriftfarm) January 13, 2024

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And an electrifying effort it was. Drawn towards the outside in a field of 10, the March-foaled bay bounced very alertly and was involved in bit of an early tussle for the lead with longshot Details Matter (Coast Guard) before ceding the advantage heading to the backstretch. It appeared to have been a smart tactical decision from Ramon Vasquez, as the opening quarter was up in a slick :22 flat and the half in a strong :46.21. Fully expecting the pacesetter to drop away, Vazquez was content to sit against Boltage, eventually allowing him to nose in front five-sixteenths from home. Popped the question in upper stretch, Boltage responded immediately to put a gap on his rivals and sprinted home very nicely for an impressive victory as the 3.90-1 second pick. Glandford (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}), a latest second at Yarmouth for trainer William Jarvis and making his stateside bow here, was off slowly, found some traffic when the real running was about to begin and finished well to be second.

Boltage was an even sixth on debut behind susbequent GIII Best Pal S. third Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief) in a five-furlong maiden July 23, a race whose third-place finisher Tall Paul (Frosted) broke his maiden in New York-bred company at Saratoga Aug. 12.

Ultimate Prize was purchased for $1,200 at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale, reportedly pregnant to Midshipman, but Boltage is the mare's first live produce. Boltage, sold for $20,000 at last year's Keeneland January Sale, proved a nifty pinhook when hammering to Jim and Dana Bernhard's Lynnhaven Racing for $240,000 at the Fasig-Tipton July sale about six months later. This is also the Emory Hamilton family of champion Queena, the dam of GISW Brahms, as well as Grade I winners Verrazano and Somali Lemonade.

Ultimate Prize is also the dam of Mr Loooch (Speightster), SP, $154,560, recent runner-up in the Honey Jay S. at Thistledown Aug. 12, a yearling colt named Metwally (Mitole) and a weanling colt by Omaha Beach. She was bred to both the latter and Golden Pal this season.

8th-Del Mar, $84,500, Msw, 8-24, 2yo, 1mT, 1:37.20, fm, 5 1/4 lengths.
BOLTAGE, c, 2, by Bolt d'Oro
1st Dam: Ultimate Prize, by Smart Strike
2nd Dam: Queens Full, by Indian Charlie
3rd Dam: Puestera, by Forty Niner
Sales history: $20,000 Ylg '22 KEEJAN; $240,000 Ylg '22 FTKJUL. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $49,700. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Pin Oak Stud LLC; B-Virginia Moore & Malia Hopkins (KY); T-Richard E Mandella.

BOLTAGE ($9.80) was electric while winning the 8th at @DelMarRacing. Another 2-year-old winner for @spendthriftfarm's Bolt d'Oro. He's trained by Richard Mandella and ridden by @JockeyRamonVazq for owners @PinOakStud. pic.twitter.com/STZ9ylKTiH

— TVG (@TVG) August 25, 2023

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#9 Miss d'Or Cherie breaks her maiden in R5 at Saratoga under Manny Franco for trainer @clementstable!

#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/PegBOVnVO0

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) August 10, 2023

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“We had a very solid start to the 2023 yearling sales marketplace,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “I think we all recognized that we were coming off a euphoric 2022 yearling marketplace that saw pretty significant increases across the board from July all the way to October. I think we got a little bit of a reality adjustment here and I think we saw that coming in the 2-year-old marketplace this year. But it's still a very healthy marketplace.”

A total of 207 yearlings sold Tuesday for a gross of $20,507,000. The average of $99,068 declined 14% from last year's figure of $115,151–which was the second highest in sale's history; and the median fell 14.4% to $77,000–down from last year's record-tying figure of $90,000

“The average declined a little bit from last year and the median decreased from last year and the RNA rate was slightly up,” Browning said. “But the buyers were complaining they couldn't buy what they wanted to buy and they had to pay too much for the ones that they bought. The sellers were saying it was hard to get their horses sold and they wished they could have gotten more money. So that means it's a pretty fair and balanced marketplace.”

The buy-back rate, which was 23.8% last year, rose to 31.9% Tuesday.

“What has traditionally impacted our RNA rate over the last 10 years [at the July sale] is that sellers have another option,” Browning said. “We have a really strong marketplace in October, three months down the road, so they can be a little more bullish sometimes in setting their reserves in July. Which might create a little higher RNA rate, but all in all, I thought it was a fair market.”

While 32 yearlings sold for $200,000 or more at the 2022 July sale, only 21 hit that mark in 2023.

The Lieblongs made the highest purchase of the July sale, going to $475,000 to acquire a filly by Authentic from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment. Taylor Made sold the filly on behalf of her breeder, Spendthrift Farm, which stands the 2020 GI Kentucky Derby winner.

Among the other first-crop sires near the top of the results sheets, a filly by Three Chimneys' Volatile sold for $285,000 to Ken McPeek. Gainesway's McKinzie and Spun to Run, as well as Spendthrift's Thousand Words and Vekoma all had yearlings sell for $200,000 or more.

Authentic Filly Sets Off July Fireworks

A filly from the first crop of GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (hip 174) lit up the Fasig-Tipton sales ring Tuesday when selling for $475,000 to Alex and Jo Ann Lieblong. The bay filly is out of Scent of Summer (Rock Hard Ten), a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Paradise Woods (Union Rags). She was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency on behalf of her breeder, Spendthrift Farm.

“She just looked like a physical standout, she looked like a 2-year-old,” Lieblong said. “But evidently, everybody else thought so, too. She was from a good consignor and she carried herself well, but I also liked the family.”

ICYMI: Watch Hip 174 f. AUTHENTIC o/o Scent of Summer sell for $475,000 at The July Sale! Congratulations to all the connections. #FasigJuly pic.twitter.com/HdOLomci9B

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) July 11, 2023

Lieblong, who also paid $200,000 for a filly from the first crop of Spun to Run, admitted he liked buying yearlings by freshman sires.

“I like the first-crop sires,” he said. “I figure that's about the last shot you've got. You're not going to get a shot at Good Magic now, but you still have a shot with the first-crop sires.”

Spendthrift purchased Scent of Summer for $350,000 at the 2019 Keeneland January sale.

“That was a filly that we were very proud of,” Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey said of the yearling. “We really debated on what sale to put her in, where she would make the most sense. And we thought, let's take her out to July and try to make a little bit of a splash. The thought was that she might be good enough for Saratoga, but let's bring her out here and see if we can't be a really big fish in a smaller pond. Since we've made that decision, she's done nothing but improve. It's always interesting on these yearlings, in these last six weeks, they can just come together beautifully for you or fall to pieces. But everything came together really nicely. She showed herself nicely out here and had plenty of interest. And Taylor Made did a great job presenting her out here.”

The mare's 2-year-old colt by Hard Spun sold to trainer Ron Ellis for $325,000 at this year's OBS March sale.

A son of Into Mischief, Authentic won the 2020 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic and stands at Spendthrift for $60,000. He was the leading first-crop sire of weanlings last season when his first foals averaged $242,692.

“If you are breeding to him, I think a lot of people are getting what you'd expect,” Toffey said. “They are a little bit lighter, racier and leggier version of Into Mischief. That's exactly how I would describe Authentic and I think that's what he seems to be throwing. They have good substance, plenty of leg, good scope. They are really well-balanced and very athletic.”

Good Magic Colt a Score for Three Counties

Aidan and Hannah Jennings continued to add to their pinhooking scores when partnering with Charles Hynes to sell a colt by Good Magic (hip 175) for $370,000 to Travis Boersma's Boardshorts Stables during Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton July sale. The partners had purchased the chestnut colt under the name Three Counties Bloodstock for $49,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“[Hynes] is from Roscommon and myself, I'm from Galway,” Aidan Jennings explained of the name, before looking at his wife and adding, “And Hannah is from…”

Hannah Jennings added with a laugh, “San Diego.”

Aidan Jennings said, “It's just a bit of sport.”

The couple said they went into the weanling sales last year specifically looking to buy a foal by Good Magic.

“We were eager to get one last year, but we got outbid on most of them,” Aidan Jennings said. “He fit the bill.”

The yearling, who was consigned Tuesday by Padraig Campion's Blandford Stud, is out of Scolding (Carpe Diem), who was a $475,000 OBS April purchase in 2019 and was a first-out winner for trainer Steve Asmussen in 2020.

“The dam was very sharp and she was very fast as a breezer as well,” Aidan Jennings said. “She won first time out for Asmussen and was a 'TDN Rising Star.' She looked like anything. Unfortunately, she didn't fulfill that potential, but she had it. This horse kind of looked sharp and we were hoping the stallion would kick on. We were very lucky. We get plenty wrong, so it's good when it works out.”

Hannah Jennings gave her partners credit for picking the colt out last fall.

“I was 39 weeks pregnant, so it was all the boys who bought the horse,” she said. “So all of the credit to them. Padraig got everyone together and figured July would be the right spot for him. He was precocious and the stallion had done well, obviously with Mage winning the Derby.”

Just weeks before they were married in 2021, the Jennings enjoyed a career day in the pinhooking arena. At that year's Keeneland September sale, they sold a Violence colt, who had been purchased for $65,000 for $165,000; a Nyquist colt purchased for $40,000 for $200,000; a colt by Accelerate purchased for $110,000 for $200,000; and a Kantharos colt purchased for $125,000 for $250,000.

Now the couple has even more good mojo in their corner with their newborn daughter.

“She's a good luck charm actually,” Aidan Jennings said. “The first race we took her to, we had a winner and we took her to the first breeze-up and that was great.”

Later in Tuesday's auction, trainer Wesley Ward secured another colt by Good Magic, going to $330,000 to acquire hip 276 from the Cara Bloodstock consignment. Bred by Saintsbury Farms, the yearling is out of Bola de Cristal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

Blame Colt, Volatile Filly Lead McPeek July Haul

Trainer Ken McPeek, perennially a major presence at the Fasig-Tipton July sale, acquired six yearlings Tuesday in Lexington. As agent for Chris Baccari and DWF, McPeek went to $310,000 to purchase a colt by Blame (hip 289) from the Gainesway consignment. Bred by Green Lantern Stables, the bay is out of Barbara Gordon (Commissioner).

Watch Hip 289 c. BLAME o/o Barbara Gordon sell for $310,000 at The July Sale! #FasigJULY @KennyMcPeek @Gainesway @claibornefarm pic.twitter.com/xhWePBpe9m

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) July 11, 2023

McPeek also purchased the auction's second most expensive yearling by a first crop sire when going to $285,000 for a daughter of Three Chimneys' Volatile (hip 235). The gray filly was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. Out of Whisper to Me (Thunder Gulch), she is a half-sister to graded winner Overheard (Macho Uno). She was bred by Craig Singer, who purchased Whisper to Me carrying the foal for $65,000 at the 2021 dispersal of Pin Oak Stud

“I thought she was a real standout as an individual here,” McPeek said of the filly. “I love the stamp that Volatile put on her. She has a half-sister who is a nice stakes horse. And she physically looks like a stakes horse to me, too.”

Of the market at the first yearling sale of the year, McPeek said, “It's been very selective. We only had a dozen horses that we even considered bidding on today. We ended up with six and we have a couple left to bid on. It's been solid. We would have liked to see more horses on my final list, but it's all good. The better ones you had to pay a little bit more for, but that's typical. Overall, we are really pleased.”

First-Crop Sires Kick of July Sale

The Fasig-Tipton July sale, and the yearling sales season, kicked off in Lexington with an offering of some 100 youngsters by first-crop sires. And, while fillies by Authentic and Volatile attracted higher bids outside of the freshman sire showcase, it was Gainesway's McKinzie who was represented by the section's top-priced yearling when GS Inversiones Hipicas paid $260,000 for hip 71, a colt consigned by Denali Stud.

“We've been excited about McKinzie ever since the November sale started,” said Gainesway's Brian Graves. “His book was huge in the first year, the demand for him was huge. The second year, the demand was almost equal to the first year. And then, something that is very uncommon, in his third year, he had 170 mares. And that was based on how good-looking the first crop of foals were in November. He was the second leading freshman sire by average at the sale, just second to Authentic whose stud fee is over twice what his is. It's a good indication that people really liked what they saw. I think it's going to be the same case at the yearling sales, if not better because there are going to be more of them on offer. And what we've seen going around looking at all of them is very encouraging.”

A four-time Grade I winner, McKinzie stands at Gainesway for a fee of $30,000. The stallion had 36 weanlings sell last year for an average of $134,307.

Gainesway's Spun to Run also had a strong showing during the July sale's freshman showcase. The GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner, who stands for $10,000, had three six-figure yearlings Tuesday. Leading the group was hip 66, a filly consigned by Summerfield and purchased for $200,000 by Alex and Jo Ann Lieblong.

“I haven't honestly seen all of them yet, but I like the way the first ones started,” Graves said of Spun to Run's first crop of yearlings. “He's got all of the credentials. He was a fast horse by a proven horse in Hard Spun. We are hopeful he speaks for himself.”

Trainer Neil Pessin, bidding on behalf of Bob Lothenbach, went to $125,000 to acquire a colt by Spun to Run (hip 26) from the Elite consignment. Pessin also took home another son of a first-crop sire when going to $200,000 to purchase a dark bay colt by Vekoma (hip 174) from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment.

“I look for athletic, well-balanced horses with a decent walk,” Pessin said, while admitting the first-crop sire angle was purely a coincidence. “The sires don't mean as much to me. I think it's 70% the dam, 30% the sire. I just look for a good athlete. This is the sale we bought [GISW] Bell's the One out of, so we come here and look quite a bit.”

Of the colt by Vekoma, Pessin said, “He is athletic and not real wide, but he's got a nice butt on him. And he has a good walk. That's what I look for when I come looking for yearlings. We can live with some conformational flaws if they walk through it. It was the same with the Spun to Run colt. He's a nice, good-looking athlete. That's what we go for.”

While some buyers may hope to find a bargain buying yearlings by first-crop sires, Pessin felt he paid plenty for the two colts.

“I feel we overpaid for both,” he said. “We went above what we were planning to spend on both of them. But if we didn't like them, we wouldn't be bidding on them. And so if we go a little over, it's ok. But we don't want to go a lot over.”

Pessin's $200,000 bid for hip 64 led a series of strong results for Spendthrift's Vekoma, who stands for $15,000, and appeared to catch the eye of a number of pinhookers. Ciaran Dunne's Waves Bloodstock partnership purchased hip 33, a colt by the stallion consigned by Taylor Made, for $175,000 and Luis Garcia and Gina Fennell went to $155,000 to acquire hip 98, a colt consigned by Shawhan Place.

“We love Vekoma, but mainly it was the colt's pedigree that we liked,” Garcia said of the yearling whose dam Happy Now (Mr. Greeley) is a half-sister to graded winner Ironicus, among others.

Of Vekoma, Garcia said, “He is by Candy Ride and that horse was great. He had a lot of speed and obviously we are trying to pinhook, so we love that. We loved Vekoma when he was running.”

Spendthrift Farm's Ned Toffey admitted Vekoma's early results in the sales ring were exceeding the operation's expectations.

“Vekoma, with that sire line, they aren't always the most spectacular physicals, so it was a little tricky to know what we were going to get,” Toffey said. “But as soon as those foals started to hit the ground last year, we have just been overwhelmed by the feedback from breeders. And that's carried right on through. I thought it was a very solid group that was out here and I keep hearing about more. So I expect him to have a very, very good sales season.”

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“It was a terrific afternoon and early evening of horse sales today,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “The horses of racing age marketplace was just dynamite. I think that virtually everyone in attendance–both buyers and sellers, and I can tell you the sales company officials–were a little surprised by how strong the market was and how robust and how consistent the bidding activity was literally from start to finish.”

At the sale's end just around 8 p.m., 142 had sold for a gross of $13,982,000. The average was $98,465 and the median was $62,500. With 28 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 16.5%.

A year ago, 129 horses grossed $10,814,000 for an average of $83,829 and a median of $62,500. The buy-back rate was 19.4%.

“Three horses brought $500,000 or more,” Browning said. “But not only that, we had a lot of horses that got sold with modest reserves that were bringing significantly more than the reserves. So it was a great start to the July sale and I am very, very pleased. Once again, it's a tribute to the people who bring the quality horses to us and give us the opportunity to sell them. It sure worked well today.”

Bloodstock agent Steve Young purchased the co-sale topping Malleymoo (English Channel) from the Gainesway consignment, while Chad Schumer matched that $550,000 price tag later in the auction when acquiring Free Look (Tapit) from the Elite consignment. The final horse through the ring, Crypto Mo (Mohaymen), supplemented to the sale just hours after winning the GIII Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows Saturday night, sold to Hunter Valley Farm for $500,000.

In addition to the co-topper, Elite consigned six of the day's top 10 priced horses.

“It's been a terrific sale for us tonight–probably our best July sale ever,” said Elite's Brad Weisbord. “We started here in 2017 and the racehorses and broodmare prospects are our specialty. We've sold 34 of 37 today and we have post-sale offers on two of the three that the clients are considering. It was a terrific marketplace.”

Weisbord said he was finding buyers at every level of the market.

“We rarely sell under $100,000, but we had clients with horses that were going to sell for less than that, so we took them,” he said. “So we sold horses from $35,000 to $550,000, which is a big range for us. But there were buyers at all levels. We have always found that, unlike the yearling or 2-year-old sales where the middle market might be thin, at racehorse sales there are buyers at all levels because you can send them to your pick of trainers and they can go earn pretty quickly.”

Young Back in Action at July
Bloodstock agent Steve Young, whose Fasig July purchases include subsequent GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint winnter Wavell Avenue (Harlington), went to $550,000 to acquire stakes-winning Malleymoo (English Channel) (hip 444) Monday at Newtown Paddocks. The 3-year-old filly, consigned by Gainesway, won the Penn Oaks in her most recent start for Rockingham Ranch, David Bernsen, Talla Racing and JWS Racing.

“She is going to Todd Pletcher,” Young said. “She will go to Saratoga and look to go in one of the 3-year-old grass filly stakes there later in the meet.”

Malleymoo broke her maiden at Dundalk before finishing second in the Wait a While S. at Gulfstream last December. She was off the board in the GIII Sweetest Chant S. and GIII Herecomesthebride S., as well as a Keeneland turf allowance in April before her front-running victory in the June 2 Penn Oaks.

“She is a beautiful filly,” Young said. “She had a couple of rough trips at Gulfstream and has improved basically every start of her life. She's a nice horse. And we think she'll get better as she gets older.”

Young, who made the highest bid at last year's July sale, also purchased Lord Zed (Lord Nelson) (hip 437) for $15,000 Monday, Two Minute Lick (Connect) (hip 520) for $27,000 and late in the sale he paid $135,000 for Delta Tau Chi (hip 637), a colt by Practical Joke.

“This is a place to get horses of all classes for people who want to go to Saratoga or Del Mar or Ellis Park,” Young said of the July auction. “I think the results have been very good for a sale that's only been in business for 10 years.”

Free Look to Join Blue Diamond Band
While her racing future is still undecided, Free Look (Tapit) (hip 596) will eventually be joining the broodmare band at Imad Alsagar's Blue Diamond Stud in the UK after selling for $550,000 Monday at Fasig-Tipton. Bloodstock agent Chad Schumer signed the ticket on the graded stakes-placed filly, who was consigned by Elite.

Free Look | Sarah Andrew

“She's a beautiful mare,” Schumer said. “Tapit is a leading broodmare sire, she was graded stakes placed at two, she has beautiful conformation–she's is an absolute cracker of a physical. And it's a fantastic family. What more can you ask for? She has everything you would look for in a broodmare for the future.”

The 3-year-old filly is out of the unraced Wild Mint (Medaglia d'Oro), a full-sister to Violence. A $300,000 Keeneland September purchase in 2021, she was second in the 2022 GII Miss Grillo S. and ended her juvenile campaign with a fifth-place effort in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. She was most recently third in a Belmont allowance May 13 for trainer Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables.

Of immediate plans for the filly, Schumer said, “Plans are fluid because she's a 3-year-old filly and she's OK to race. But we also think she's very valuable as a broodmare. That was the primary focus when we bought her. I think what we will do is let the dust settle and figure it out and come up what we think is the best plan for her and go from there.”

Blue Diamond enjoyed Classic success last year with Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who won last year's G1 French Oaks.

“Imad is an old friend and Nancy Sexton, who I work with a lot, she is one of his bloodstock advisors,” Schumer said. “They found her in the catalogue. I am just doing the easy stuff here. They are the ones that picked her and I went and looked at her, inspected her.”

Klaravich Stables was also represented in the sales ring Monday by Power in Numbers (Girvin), who sold for $400,000.

Crypto Mo to Join Cox Barn
Saturday's GIII Iowa Oaks winner Crypto Mo (Mohaymen) will be joining the barn of trainer Brad Cox after Adrian Regan and Fergus Galvin of Hunter Valley Farm purchased her, in partnership with Qatar Racing, for $500,000 Monday evening at Fasig-Tipton. Crypto Mo was winning her third straight race Saturday in the Iowa Oaks. She captured a Prairie Meadows allowance by 17 3/4 lengths in May and added the Panthers S. in June. “She won very well Saturday night,” Galvin said. “She's a filly on the up. She's a beautiful physical and she was very classy here in the back ring. She never turned a hair. She is definitely improving, so hopefully there is bigger and better on the horizon for her.”

Asked if the filly had been on the team's radar before her win at Prairie Meadows late Saturday night, Galvin admitted, “Not really, no. The race was run Saturday night, so obviously when she was advertised, we looked her up and she won it pretty easily and got a good number. We are hopeful we will take her to Saratoga and maybe look at some races up there. Nothing is set in stone yet.”

Hunter Valley was represented by its first Grade I winner when A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo), purchased for $400,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale, won the GI Beholder Mile at Santa Anita in March. Qatar Racing has had its own success buying fillies of racing age with MGISW Caravel (Mizzen Mast).

“We've had a good year with A Mo Reay and a few others and it's boosted our confidence a little bit,” Galvin said of the decision to purchase the filly. “And she caught our eye.”

Galvin said he wasn't surprised by the filly's $500,000 price tag.

“She is an improving 3-year-old filly,” he said. “There are a host of races for those in the next couple of months. They are always in high demand.”

From Prairie Meadows to Fasig-Tipton, Crypto Mo Stars at July
When Crypto Mo (Mohaymen) (hip 645) hit the wire first in the GIII Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows late Saturday night, her owners made the last-minute decision to enter in the horses of race age sale and the partners were rewarded when the sophomore filly–the final horse through the ring at Fasig-Tipton Monday–sold for $500,000 to Hunter Valley Farm. She was consigned by Taylor Made Sales. Trainer and co-owner Travis Murphy, whose wife Cindy rode the filly Saturday night to her milestone 2,000th victory, and co-owner Brendon Valentini were on hand at Fasig-Tipton Monday to watch their prize filly sell.

Murphy purchased the filly for $20,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale and Valentini admitted they would celebrate her sale Monday the same way they celebrated her purchase nearly two years ago.

“We bought her for $20,000 as a yearling and we went to Malones,” he said. “We sold her for a half-a-million today and we are going back to Malones.”

“It's emotional,” Murphy said. “We keep a smaller stable and buy horses in our partnership group. We get attached to them. So that part is difficult.”

Valentini added, “We are excited about her future. We want her to go on and do great things. I think she is going to be a multiple graded stakes winner.”

Murphy trailored the filly the nine hours from Prairie Meadows to Lexington himself.

“Brook Ledge had a van at Prairie Meadows with some of the other ship-in horses, but they were leaving at 4 a.m.,” Murphy said. “We hadn't made any preparations for the sale yet because we wanted to see how she competed and I wanted to see how she came back from the race. So that left her getting here in a very short window.”

Harrison Ups the Quality with Redifined
Perry Harrison, along with trainer Michelle Lovell, came to the Fasig-Tipton July sale specifically for one filly and the Texan went home happy when securing the stakes-placed Redifined (More Than Ready) (hip 481) for $450,000.

“I had a team with me and we looked her over pretty thoroughly and vetted her and she fit a lot of what we are trying to accomplish,” Harrison said. “She's a nice filly.”

Redifined, out of Mrs. Boss (Brz) (Wild Event), was consigned by Lane's End. Racing for trainer Tony Dutrow and his Team D partnership, the 3-year-old filly broke her maiden at Belmont last June. She was third in the Bolton Landing S. and a narrowly beaten second in the GIII Matron S. before ending her juvenile campaign with a runner-up effort in the Stewart Manor S. She captured a Belmont allowance June 3 in her most recent start. She was a $150,000 Keeneland September purchase.

Harrison campaigned the hard-knocking mare Change of Control (Fed Biz), who won the 2021 GIII Intercontinental S. He said he currently has about 10 horses in training, as well as a small broodmare band.

“We typically breed about five to eight and then we race usually about the same,” Harrison said. “This is kind of step outside of our comfort zone, but we feel like she is well worth it.

She had both ends of it–we want to look at the breeding aspect as well as the racing. And she's only a 3-year-old and she has a lot of promise and a lot of upside.”

As for plans for the filly, Harrison gestured to Lovell and said, “I am going to talk to Michelle about it. I will let her decide. I'm not going to try to put her words in her mouth on that.”

Of the filly's final price tag, Harrison said, “It was where we thought she would go. Did we hope she'd bring less? Yes. But for quality, you are going to end up paying for.”

Mawaka Makes First Purchase

Scott Mawaka, who has been a racing fan and minority partner in some horses for two decades, made his first purchase at auction Monday at Newtown Paddocks, going to $445,000 to acquire Catiche (Arrogate) (hip 551) from the Elite consignment. Mawaka was sitting alongside bloodstock agent and advisor Marette Farrell when he signed his first ticket.

“She has a tremendous pedigree and still potentially some life on the track,” Mawaka said. “I think we will come out of the excitement of the sale and re-gather and determine what her future looks like. At this point it looks like we might see her back on the track short term and certainly in the broodmare in the future.”

Scott Mawaka, Marette Farrell at the HORA Sale 2023 Fasig-Tipton July Sale

Mawaka said no trainer had been determined for the 4-year-old filly.

Racing for Augustin Stables and trainer Jonathan Thomas, Catiche was runner-up in last year's GIII Selene S. and Bourbonette S. She most recently finished second in a May 12 Woodbine allowance.

Of the filly's final price, Mawaka said, “I thought it was a good deal. I anticipated a little more, so I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to get her there.”

Based in Ohio, Mawaka is CEO of the insurance company Fleet Response. Among the horses he has been co-owner of is Fingal's Cave (Carpe Diem), runner-up in last year's Raven Run S. at Keeneland.

“I've owned horses in minority partnerships for a long time and this is my first introduction to the sale,” he said. “I am just looking to expand more than anything. I love the game. I've been involved as a fan and an owner for probably 20 years. And it's a time in my life now that I can invest more energy and finance into the game.”

As he looks to build a broodmare band, Farrell said Mawaka's plan will be to breed mostly to race, while selling some foals to finance his stable.

Asked if he has plans for any more purchases, Mawaka laughed and said, “Hard to say. We will see. It depends on these prices.”

Lanz Continues Saudi Buying Spree
Pedro Lanz, who was active buying on behalf of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Sons's KAS Stables at the Keeneland April sale a few months ago, continued buying horses of racing age to send to Saudi Arabia Monday in Lexington. The agent went to $400,000 to acquire Power in Numbers (Girvin) (hip 470) and came back just a few hips later to purchase Rebellious Stage (Justify) (hip 479) for $200,000. Both 3-year-old colts were consigned by Elite.

“I am buying for Saudi Arabian clients and they are looking for horses to run Classic distances,” Lanz said. “They are trying to get the best horses for stakes races there, so they love these sales.”

A $200,000 Fasig-Tipton July purchase in 2021, Power in Numbers has won three straight races this year for Klaravich Stables and trainer Chad Brown. He most recently captured the June 25 Tale of the Cat S. at Monmouth Park.

“This horse is a 3-year-old, lightly raced, with good numbers and improving with every race,” Lanz said of Power in Numbers. “The horse is sound and he's by Girvin and they are doing very good.”

Lanz topped the Keeneland April sale when purchasing the debut-winning 2-year-old Commissioner Dan (Commissioner) (hip 120) for $500,000. Also at that horses of racing age auction, he purchased Carmel Road (Quality Road) for $260,000 and Naval Aviator (Tapit) for $170,000.

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Veinot, a transplanted Canadian now living in Lexington, purchased the colt for $30,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“I liked his frame,” Veinot said of the weanling's appeal. “There wasn't a lot of meat on those bones, but there was a beautiful frame. I liked the way he moved. This horse has probably the biggest walk on anything I've ever prepped in 20 years. I am hoping the buyers will see that. I am pretty sure that they will.”

Of the colt's transformation since last fall, Veinot said, “You wouldn't even recognize him. It doesn't always go that way. You buy that frame in hopes that it will all fill out in the right places. And with him, it has.”

The gray colt is out of La Boheme (Giant's Causeway), a half-sister to graded winners Electrify (Delaware Township) and Rothko (Arch).

Veinot worked as a showman for Taylor Made Sales Agency for two decades before starting her Dreamcatcher consignment with two horses at the Keeneland January sale earlier this year. But her relatively late start in horse racing was anything but certain after growing up showing horses in Canada.

“I left Canada when I was 24, almost turning 25,” Veinot recalled. “I was in Nova Scotia, married and had five businesses, and I didn't like anything I did. I was small enough. I always wanted to be a jockey. I knew a friend of a friend down in Maryland and he got me a job with Jonathan Sheppard. I packed up everything I owned and I went down to Jonathan Sheppard's farm.”

Veinot rode her first race at 30, but after five years in the saddle turned to training. She found a niche buying yearlings and selling them at the track as 2-year-olds.

“I would buy yearlings with no pedigree and I would run them at Keeneland and sell them off of the track,” she explained. “I would gate break and gallop them all on my own.”

That hands-on approach translated when she decided it was time to step back from breaking babies and transitioned to pinhooking weanlings to yearlings.

“When I had to step back from getting on those 2-year-olds, I wasn't really happy about that,” Veinot said. “To me, that was a step backwards. But I absolutely love weanling to yearlings. I break all of the babies before I bring them to the sale. And people know that I do that. I just like the one-on-one time with them. Anybody who knows me knows that I put a lot of groundwork in. All of my horses have had saddles and bridles and branches and tarps and balloons–I tie helium balloons to their backs before I get up on them. My favorite part is the groundwork and building confidence in the horse because I think it transcends onto the racetrack.”

In addition to showing at the sales for Taylor Made, Veinot sold her horses through the farm's sales consignments.

“I've partnered and sold with the Taylor Made boys for over 20 years,” Veinot said. “Taylor Made always blessed me with the privilege of going into their consignment and coming with my horses. So I was always able to show my own horses with them because I showed for them for 20 years.”

Among her pinhooking successes is Three Technique (Mr Speaker), who she purchased for $50,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale and sold the following year with Taylor Made for $180,000 at the Fasig-Tipton July sale. The 6-year-old recently added the July 1 GII John A Nerud S. to his resume.

“Three Technique was the first horse by Mr Speaker to go through the ring,” Veinot said. “I didn't even know who Mr Speaker was, but I really liked him.”

She also pinhooked Kalik (Collected), who she acquired for $80,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton October sale and resold for $200,000 at Keeneland the following September. The colt, owned by Bob LaPenta, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Madaket Stables and trained by Chad Brown, won the June 3 GII Pennine Ridge S. and heads postward in Saturday's GI Belmont Derby.

“Chad Brown said he was his best 2-year-old last year, but he got slow going,” Veinot said of Kalik, who has now won three times from five starts. “He just won a stakes at Belmont that gave him an automatic entry into a $750,000 stakes. So I think he runs in New York before he heads to the Queen's [King's] Plate.”

The 58-year-old Veinot made the decision to go out on her own in January. In Dreamcatcher's first consignment, she sold a 2-year-old filly by Vino Rosso for $28,000 and RNA'd a daughter of Thousand Words.

“It was just time to take the leap,” Veinot said of the decision to start her own consignment. “By the time you give Keeneland 5% and [the consignor] 5%, it's $10,000 to sell your $100,000 horse. Financially this makes more sense. Truth be told, it made me a little nervous to step outside of the Taylor Made umbrella because they took care of the details, the paperwork, the entry forms. If I forgot something, they were on top of it. But, as long as I keep my ducks in a row as far as the paperwork goes, I am quite comfortable.”

While she purchased individuals with little pedigree when selling 2-year-olds off the track years ago, Veinot has found a new strategy with her weanling buys.

“That's the toughest part of the game that I've had to conform to,” she said. “I had the most beautiful Orb filly–just as one example–and nobody would buy an Orb. At that point they had all been burned by Orb and so I never got paid. So when I am looking at babies now, if I can afford the first-crop sires, I will. I can't afford the established sires, so what I will generally do is go in there and buy a first-crop sire with a smaller stud fee, like Mr Speaker and this Gift Box colt. But then I will try to buy something in that pedigree that might have a 2-year-old that could help me out next year. So I will look at all the yearlings turning two and the 2-year-olds turning three [in the weanling's pedigree] and hope to get a little lucky that way. That would be my niche, if you're buying on a budget.”

Veinot, who leases a farm off Huntertown Road, plans on keeping her operation small to continue her hands-on approach.

“I keep a really boutique bunch because I do all the work myself,” she said. “So a half-dozen is my magic number [to pinhook]. I did eight a couple of years ago and it was just too many.”

Veinot still has her trainer's license and has two horses in her stable.

“I kept a horse that I liked and had some talent and named him after my dad,” she said of You Make Me Happy (Firing Line). “He broke his maiden here at Keeneland in the fall, but I don't brag to be a trainer. I did that when I was pinhooking yearlings to 2-year-olds. I did that for 10 years and then I took a break and started doing the weanlings. When You Make Me Happy came along, I took my trainer's license back out for him. And I've kept another filly who went through that January sale, she's a filly by Thousand Words who I think has a ton of talent and I'm going to race her under my own name.”

Fasig-Tipton will host its July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale Monday at Newtown Paddocks with bidding beginning at 2 p.m. The Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings will be held Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m.

The post ‘This is a Beautiful Gift Box Colt’: Veinot Has High Hopes for One-Horse Fasig July Consignment appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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In an attempt to address the lack of important data and the resulting negative consequences to the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry, several studies have recently been completed looking at stifle and sesamoid radiographs as well as suspensory branch ultrasound findings  in sales horses. Initiated by clinician scientists at the Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University, these studies started with evaluation of the radiographs of 2,508 yearlings and suspensory branch ultrasound exams of 593 yearlings at the 2016 Keeneland September Sale. The next step was to evaluate any horses from the initial group that went to the 2017 2-year-olds in training sales to study the progression or regression of the findings. The final portion of the research was to study racing outcomes through the end of the horses' 4-year-old racing season to see what effect the radiographic and ultrasonographic findings had on their performance as racehorses.

The results of the studies are encouraging, demonstrating that the presence of certain findings does not necessarily have a negative effect on suitability for racing. Another element of these studies that can benefit industry stakeholders is a recommendation to use consistent descriptions of the findings, creating uniformity in messaging of the findings and thereby helping veterinarians communicate accurate risk assessments to their clients.

The importance of this research to the Thoroughbred racing and breeding community cannot be underestimated, and there will be a significant effort to ensure that the information is accessible to everyone.  One such offering will be a presentation of the research findings at the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds, the afternoon prior to the start of the July Sale on Sunday, July 9, at 4:30 p.m. Drs. Wayne McIlwraith and Chris Kawcak will present a summary of the sesamoid and stifle findings, followed by a moderated panel discussion with sales veterinarians and a Q&A session. All stakeholders in the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry are encouraged to attend.

—Dr. Jeffrey Berk, Dr. Christopher Kawcak and Dr. Wayne McIlwraith

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The consignment and client relations component of Straight Line will be managed by Colin Brennan, who launched a bloodstock agency in his own name in 2019, Kristin Brennan, who helped to launch sales consignments for Calumet Farm, and Austin Winfrey, who gained experience in a variety of facets of the sales before joining his father Troy at Wolf Creek Farm once the operation was moved back to Kentucky. Troy Winfrey and Goodwin will manage horses behind the scenes.

“I am excited for the unique opportunity to co-found Straight Line Equine Sales,” said Brennan, a graduate of the Godolphin Flying Start program who spent five years as assistant to his father, noted 2-year-old consignor Niall Brennan, and two years at Stonestreet's racing and training division in Florida. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for everyone on our team and I believe collectively we will be able to satisfy clients in various sectors of the market.”

Following Fasig-Tipton July, Straight Line expects to have a presence at Saratoga and Texas in August and the Keeneland September Sale.

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